Bulldogs get creative in 28-0 win over Hereford

By SKIP LEON Skip.Leon@hearstnp.com

Published 9:39 am, Saturday, October 3, 2015

Photo: Skip Leon/Plainview Herald

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Plainview's Roy Abanonu, 50, watches as teammate Jayton Ellis hits the Hereford quarterback and forces a fumble in the first quarter of Friday night's game at Hereford. The Bulldogs' J'ryn Vela recovered the ball and raced 59 yards for a touchdown to give the Dogs a 14-0 lead. less

Plainview's Roy Abanonu, 50, watches as teammate Jayton Ellis hits the Hereford quarterback and forces a fumble in the first quarter of Friday night's game at Hereford. The Bulldogs' J'ryn Vela recovered the ... more

Photo: Skip Leon/Plainview Herald

Bulldogs get creative in 28-0 win over Hereford

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Plainview football coach Ryan Rhoades got creative for the Bulldogs’ game at Hereford Friday night and the result was a 28-14 victory which sends Plainview into its bye week with a 3-3 record.

With a number of players on the sidelines nursing injuries, Rhoades moved some players to new positions. Wrangler Haresnape, who began the season as the starting quarterback, returned from an ankle injury and was inserted in at running back. Marc Ramos, who has played well in the past two games starting for the injured Haresnape, continued at quarterback.

Crystin Baston, a 6-foot, 235-pound all-district offensive lineman, was moved to wingback and carried the ball 10 times for 72 yards and scored a touchdown. Haresnape also caught a pass for a touchdown as Rhoades’ moves paid dividends.

The changes allowed Plainview to rest running back Trendan Jackson, who has been nursing an ankle injury. They also allowed the Dogs to play Jayton Ellis only on defense at cornerback.

“I think they did a good job for the first time being in those positions,” Rhoades said on the field after the game. “We have a team that’s willing to do whatever it takes. They’re willing to play whatever position we need them to. They’re willing to take on whatever role is required of them for us to be successful as a team.”

Rhoades spoke of the play of Baston and Haresnape. One of the reasons Rhoades could move Baston to wingback was the development of some of the other offensive linemen. For instance, David Bustos stepped in at guard against Dumas and was one of the Dogs’ Offensive Players of the Game.

“At the same time, we wanted to get Trendan completely healthy,” Rhoades said. “And we saw a chance to maybe try something out that we’ve talked about a little bit throughout the course of the year. Crystin did a good job responding.

“And Wrangler did a good job. He can play nearly anywhere. And Marc did a good job at quarterback. He had some good plays again tonight. We’re excited about where we are and where we’re going to head.”

While the changes on offense contributed to the Bulldogs’ success in building a 28-0 halftime lead, the defense played fast and hard and forced four turnovers in the opening 24 minutes. Senior defensive end J’ryn Vela was too much for the Herd to block. He continually put pressure on the quarterback. For the game, Vela had four sacks and recovered two fumbles, including one he returned for a touchdown.

The defense also had a goal-line stand at the 1-yard line and intercepted a pass in the end zone to thwart Hereford scoring chances.

Plainview came out of the gates firing on all cylinders. They drove77 yards in nine plays after the opening kickoff to open the scoring.

Baston carried three times for 24 yards on the drive. He rumbled into the end zone from nine yards out with 8 minutes, 5 seconds left in the first quarter. Edgar Baeza kicked his first of four extra points and the Bulldogs were on top 7-0.

After the ensuing kickoff, Hereford drove into Plainview territory as far as the 19-yard line. They had a fourth-and-20 play at the 29.

Plainview defensive coordinator Lee Walker dialed up pressure on the fourth-down play with a gutsy call for a cornerback blitz. Ellis, one of the fastest players on the team, came from the outside five yards off the ball and hit the Hereford quarterback as he was setting up to pass. The ball popped into the air and Vela grabbed it and raced 59 yards for a touchdown with 3:41 left in the first quarter.

The Plainview defense then forced Hereford to punt and were pinned at their own 5-yard line. But they drove 95 yards in 14 plays and held the ball for 8 minutes, 40 seconds. Eric LaFuente ran into the end zone from a yard out to give the Bulldogs a 21-0 lead with just over five and a half minutes left in the first half.

The key play on the drive was a 35-yard run by Ramos which brought the ball to the Hereford 12-yard line. Lined up in a shotgun formation, Ramos dropped the snap, but picked up the ball and raced through the Hereford defense.

Later in the second quarter, Vela was at it again. He raced into the Herd backfield off the edge and sacked the Hereford quarterback, forcing a fumble. Vela recovered the ball and Plainview had possession at their own 38-yard line.

On third down from the 36, Ramos hit Haresnape over the middle. Haresnape caught the ball at the 45-yard line. The Hereford defender fell down and Haresnape outran the pursuit for a 64-yard touchdown with 3:12 left in the first half.

Hereford made a bid to score at the end of the half. But Jace De La Garza intercepted a pass in the end zone with 52 seconds left to end the threat.

The first-half statistics showed the Bulldogs dominating the game. Plainview had 257 yards and held Hereford to 106 yards, including minus-16 rushing.

Rhoades praised his defense after the game.

“J’ryn had a big night. They had a hard time blocking him,” the coach said. “But it wasn’t just him. There was a good push up in the middle. There was a good push off both edges. And our secondary did a really good job.”

Late in the third quarter, the Plainview defense also had a goal-line stand where they stopped Hereford at the 1-yard line on fourth down. The Herd had a second-and-goal at the 1, but the Bulldogs stopped them three times and took over on downs at the 2.

Rhoades said the strength of his defense allows the offense to take more chances.

“What a fun thing when you have that kind of defense,” Rhoades said. “It’s fun to go for it on fourth down in the middle of the field. You don’t have any hesitation because you know how well Coach (Lee) Walker and his defensive coaches get those kids ready to play and they play well.”

While the Bulldogs jumped to a 28-point lead by halftime, Hereford came back in the fourth quarter with two touchdowns to make the game interesting. The Herd recovered an onside kick and had the ball in Plainview territory with 2:50 left in the game. But they couldn’t get within one touchdown as Ellis intercepted a pass with 1:42 left to seal the victory.

For the game, Plainview pounded out 245 yards on the ground and had 348 yards total offense. Ramos rushed for 84 yards on 15 carries. Haresnape carried 10 times for 43 yards and LaFuente had four carries for 45 yards.

Hereford had 294 yards passing, mostly in the second half. But the Plainview defense held the Herd to just one yard rushing.

Rhoades said the win was a good one as Plainview heads into their bye week.

“Once again, our defense did well. I thought our offense did a lot of good things,” Rhoades said. “We’ve just got to keep on keeping on. We had a good, solid ballgame. It’s good to go into the bye week right now getting everybody healthy, we hope. It was a good game. It’s always tough to play in Hereford. They always play hard. They scored 14 there late and never gave up.”

And with all the changes on offense, Abilene Cooper will have plenty to digest in watching film of Plainview’s games this season. But Rhoades said he simply wanted to have everybody at full strength when the district season begins Oct. 16.

“The biggest thing we wanted to do was we wanted to be competitive against Hereford and at the same time we wanted to make sure everybody gets healthy,” Rhoades said. “If you noticed, we didn’t play Jay (Ellis) at all on offense. And there’s a reason.

“We wanted to get everybody healthy for the stretch run. And I think we’re going to have a chance to do that. We’re excited about what’s coming up. We’ll celebrate this victory tonight and then we’ll go on and get better over the next two weeks.”